Pocket Case of Drawing Instruments

Object Details

Description: This 18th-century pocket-sized wooden case is covered with black shagreen, leather made from the skin of a shark or rayfish. A previous owner signed paper lining the lid: James Ross bought (/) of John E. Hornor [?] (/) Rice & 1710 N[illegible] (/) #181[illegible]. Inside the lid is also handwritten: J. E. Hornor [?] (/) $15.50²⁴ (/) [illegible].; Six instruments are currently inside the case: 1) a brass and steel pair of 6" dividers with one removable point; 2) a 1-1/8" round brass handle that does not fit anything in the case; 3) a brass and steel pen point for the dividers; 4) a 6-1/4" brass and steel drawing pen; 5) a brass crayon holder for the dividers; and 6) a 6" ebony parallel rule with scalloped brass hinges.; When mathematician James McKenna gave this set of drawing instruments to the Smithsonian in 1934, he reported that an ancestor used it at Bedford, Pa., before 1800. A tool that was then in the case was scratched with the name John A. Stuart, suggesting that this surveyor in Bedford County who gave his name to a line laid out on Wills Mountain also owned the case at some point.; References: Maya Hambly, Drawing Instruments, 1580–1980 (London: Sotheby's, 1988), 185–190; Peggy A. Kidwell, "American Parallel Rules: Invention on the Fringes of Industry," Rittenhouse 10, no. 39 (1996): 90–96.
Location: Currently not on view

18th century

Physical Description: brass (overall material); steel (overall material); paper (overall material); wood (overall material); leather (overall material)
Measurements: overall: 17.5 cm x 7.2 cm x 3.7 cm; 6 7/8 in x 2 27/32 in x 1 15/32 in

See more items in: Medicine and Science: Mathematics; Science & Mathematics; Drawing Instruments

National Museum of American History

GUID (Link to Original Record): https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a9-ae43-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa